Join Us on Friday, 21 April 2017 in London, UK

{un}convention is going international! Join us for a day dedicated to building community for equality-minded wedding professionals. The schedule features conversations with leading voices in the wedding industry, breakout sessions to help you grow your business based on your values, and downtime to help you find your new business bestie. It's like a conference, only better.

{un}convention is unabashedly feminist, and we are dedicated to bringing equality and inclusion to the industry. We invite all feminist and progressive wedding professionals to join us as we immerse ourselves in education and community!

SPEAKERS & PANELISTS

Kat Williams

I believe in brides and grooms being unashamedly themselves on their wedding day. I believe in standing out. I believe that it’s better to be called “weird” and “different” than “usual” and “the same as everyone else”. I believe in extra large accessories. I believe in rainbow hair and I definitely believe in unicorns.

Nova Reid

After flicking through hundreds of pages of magazines and attending lots of wedding shows, it became apparent that there seemed to be a huge gap in the market with the visual inclusion of black and other ethnic brides in the UK wedding industry. This void made me feel quite surprised, and unexpectedly excluded as a woman living in such a cosmopolitan and multicultural UK. I was desperate to see inclusivity, to see positive images, of various types of women and more importantly women who looked liked me within the mainstream wedding industry…so the seed for Nu Bride was sown!

Karen Cinnamon

Of course, we all love certain traditions – they’re wonderful and can really enrich the experience – but contemporary couples don’t necessarily want their weddings entirely dictated by them. The most important element is to make their day completely personal, and carve their individuality into every detail. It has to mean something.

I chose the name ‘Smashing The Glass’, both with reference to the traditional ritual of breaking a glass at the end of the ceremony and as a nod towards shattering the norm of the ‘Jewish wedding by numbers’. With this in mind, my intention is to bring a world of ideas and inspiration to couples who are keen to make their Jewish wedding stand out from the cookie-cutter crowd.

Claire McGowran

Bridal Musings is a wedding blog that balances gorgeous, stylish inspiration with honest, helpful advice - for every kind of couple. We don't believe that there's such a thing as 'the perfect wedding' but we aim to help couples create a vision for their own kind of perfect day.

Elizabeth set up the blog after her own wedding (she was reluctant to say goodbye to all the dresses and flowers!) and I came on board three years ago as editor, and haven't been able to pass a veil without trying it on, ever since.

What I love most about what we do is that we get to celebrate awesome couples, talented vendors, and creative designers every single day, and call it 'work'. Our job is all about love and throwing parties - what could be better than that?

ALEISHA McCORMACK

The Bridechilla Podcast is hosted by comedian, author and virtual bridesmaid, Aleisha McCormack. Each week, Aleisha shares her tell it like it is view and unique take on wedding wisdom to help Bridechillas and Groomchillas ditch the pressures and obligations that we sometimes feel during the journey and have fun planning this awesome day.

With over 300 shows in the back catalogue, in addition to answering listener questions, Aleisha interviews the world's leading wedding wedding planners, psychologists and mother-in-laws.

The Bridechilla Podcast is all about empowering couples to plan the wedding that they want and ditching the stress and meaningless details, that no one will notice...hello chair covers.

Joyce Connor

Joyce Connor is an award winning make up artist based in the South East. She has 18 years in the cosmetics industry and is always updating her skills in the make up world. Make up is the love of her life and Joyce will transform you with her make up skills.

Joyce loves to write about make up too and has been published in many publications online and in print. She is a regular guest on BBC Berkshire and runs make up masterclasses and workshops as well as one to one make up lessons.

Chris Murphy

Vibrant, bold and anything but boring, Tuck-Box Cakes thinks outside the box when it comes to wedding cakes.

More ambitious than your average cake company, Tuck-Box blur the line between baking and Bauhaus.

Starting life as a fine art painter, through painting and piping, Tuck-Box Cake’s Creative Director and founder Chris Murphy tells each couples story through cake. At this Springs National Wedding Show London Olympia, we will be presenting our first wedding collection, five cakes as ‘individual as each bride’.

Laura Babb

Laura Babb is the photographer behind Babb Photo and the organizer of the SNAP Photography Festival. She doesn't do traditional, stiff, awkwardly-posed wedding photography. She’ll frame your wedding just as it is – marvellous, messy, magnificent, and totally who you are.

When she's not photographing weddings, she's usually off somewhere exploring with her camera. She finds architecture and urban landscapes endlessly fascinating. When she does put her camera down for a while, she likes to collect tattoos (her favourite so far is Bob the flamingo) and drink wine.

Past Speakers Include:

Timeline

Conference Schedule

10:00 - 10:30 AM

Check in with tea & pastries.

10:30 - 11:15 AM

Opening Pep Talk: Race & Perception in the Wedding Industry

Nova Reid of Nu Bride will kick off the day leading a talk and Q&A about issues of race, representation, and perception in the wedding industry. She will provide tips on how to reach a wider and more diverse client base and the business and societal implications of not being diverse in this place in time.

11:15 AM - 12:30 PM

Panel Discussion: The Importance of Providing Resources to Underrepresented Couples

12:30 - 1:30 PM

Lunch provided.

1:30 - 2:00 PM

Talk: What Weddings Need Now Is Intersectional Feminism

Afternoon mini talk with Carly Romeo & Jen Siomacco of Catalyst Wedding Co., who have challenged the U.S. wedding industry by putting a focus on representing couples often overlooked in mainstream wedding publications.

2:00 - 3:30 PM

Rotating break out workshops.

Workshop 1: Understanding What Couples Really Want

Aleisha McCormack of The Bridechilla Podcast has tons of experience hearing the concerns of couples and has given advice to thousands of "bridechillas" and "groomchillas" who have been in the midst of wedding planning. She's heard it all, and will be present to give her insights into how to better reach and serve your ideal clients.

Workshop 2: Marketing Your Business to a More Diverse Audience

Laura Babb of Babb Photo knows that great photos of your products and services are always key to booking clients, and diverse representation in your photos helps you reach a more diverse clientele. Laura will lead a group discussion to explore other methods for appealing to a more diverse audience.

3:30 - 5:00 PM

Keynote Talk: The Power of Collaboration

Kat Williams of Rock N Roll Bride will discuss her personal successes when collaborating with other brands and tips for how collaboration can enhance your business. Having a strong community can lead to success for all involved.